1971 Fiat Dino - Dino 2400 Spider

One of only 460 2.4-litre Spiders built

For 25 years with one lady owner in Rome, until 2011

With its current owner in Germany for 15 years

Regularly maintained by Leo Aumüller

When Fiat introduced the Dino Spider in 1966, there was rather less Italian joie de vivre behind it than a very practical problem in Maranello. Ferrari wanted to compete in Formula 2 with its new Dino V6, but the regulations required an engine of which at least 500 examples had been built for a road-going production car within a year. For Ferrari alone, that was quite a sporting challenge at the time. So Fiat helped out.

The result was the Fiat Dino – a car that wore a Fiat badge but had an engine with some rather illustrious relatives beneath its bonnet. Conceived by Vittorio Jano and substantially developed by Aurelio Lampredi, the V6 also powered the Dino 206 GT. In the Fiat, the initial two-litre version produced 160 hp. It came wrapped either in a Bertone-designed coupé or an exceptionally elegant Spider by Pininfarina.

In 1969, the whole affair was thoroughly revised. Capacity increased to 2,418 cc and power rose to 180 hp. More important, however, was what happened around it. In place of the aluminium block previously produced by Fiat, the 2.4-litre received a cast-iron block and was now built in Maranello alongside the Ferrari Dino engines. The previous live rear axle also gave way to sophisticated independent rear suspension, closely related to that of the Fiat 130. There was also a new five-speed ZF gearbox with a larger clutch, bigger brakes and wider tyres. Quietly, the Dino had grown up.

It had become faster, too. Three twin-choke Weber carburettors fed the high-revving 65-degree V6, while a five-speed gearbox sent the power to the rear wheels. Around 210 km/h was possible. More importantly, the engine delivered exactly the sort of soundtrack one might hope for from six Italian cylinders with Ferrari connections. Restraint was not necessarily part of the brief.

Externally, the 2400 Spider remained pleasingly close to the original design. Pininfarina had given it a long, low bonnet, a neat tail and a low waistline. No unnecessary decoration, no contrived displays of muscle. Just good proportions. Those in the know can identify the later 2.4-litre cars by details including the revised grille and new wheels.

The Dino remained in production until 1972. Just under 1,600 Spiders were built across both engine versions, only 460 of them with the 2.4-litre engine. That made it the rarest and, at the same time, the most sought-after of all Fiat Dinos.

This silver Dino is one of those few 2400 Spiders. It was first registered in Rome in the summer of 1971. In the Eternal City it was registered to a lady owner who did not part with her Dino until 2011, at the age of 78. After a brief detour through Belgium, the rare Spider passed that same year to its current owner in Bavaria.

From then on, its wellbeing was entrusted to a man who knows how to look after sporting Italians of the 1960s and 1970s better than most: Leo Aumüller. First things first, Aumüller repaired the original Dinoplex ignition system. Anything else would have been blasphemy. The Spider has been regularly entrusted to him for servicing ever since, and you can feel the benefit from the very second its fabulous engine fires into life. Combined with Pininfarina’s design, it makes this Dino 2400 an automobile that could scarcely be more exciting – or more rare.